A TV Channel Takes Aim at Toddlers

"PBS Kids Sprout," a national 24-hour channel aimed at the very young, debuts today on cable and satellite systems. Sprout, which will initially be available to about 16 million homes, will carry ads and will join the other new, commercial entrant vying for toddlers' TV time this fall. The Cartoon Network, which is owned by Time Warner, has converted two hours of its morning lineup to TickleU, a block of shows like "Gerald McBoing Boing" that the network says have a pedagogic foundation in encouraging a sense of humor in preschoolers. Nielsen Media Research estimates that there are 15.9 million children aged 2 to 5, and Nielsen figures show that the children watched an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes of television a day during the 2004-5 TV season -- 13 minutes more than the 2000-1 season.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Jensen]
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